Con-cation: The Ultimate Guide

What, you’ve never heard of a con-cation? Okay, I admit, it’s a word very specific to my personal interests, and a word I definitely just made up, but it’s going to be a thing. I promise. By now I’m sure you’ve figured out that I’m talking about a vacation centered on attending a comics convention. From San Diego to Seattle to New York City, comics conventions have been steadily taking over tourism industries for the past decade. In fact, most conventions sell out within days of the tickets becoming available, drawing excited fans from around the world.While I attend conventions…

Fat Biking the Outer Banks

Credit: Photographs by Tony Czech Fat bikes were originally designed for winter riding on Alaska's Iditarod Trail. But those cartoonish four-inch-wide tires are tailor-made for soft sand, something I discovered last fall on an expedition to North Carolina's Outer Banks. I'm new to fat biking, so I feel fortunate that my companion was Shawn Spencer, founder of the U.S. Open Fat Bike Beach Championships in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, and the owner of a local bike shop, who has spent years exploring the state's barrier islands on two wheels.Millions flock to the Outer Banks every summer, but fall is when…

In Bold Move, the Department of Interior Dissolves Grand Canyon River District

Credit: Don Grall / Getty Images More than two months after the U.S. Department of Interior released a disturbing report confirming a history of sexual harassment among river guides employed by the National Park Service in the Grand Canyon, superintendent David Uberuaga announced that he was dissolving the entire department, known as the River District.Grand Canyon National Park’s River District was a Federal body responsible for managing the park’s river trips along the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. The River District ran about a dozen trips per year for various purposes including scientific research and shoreline and trail maintenance.…

How to Surf With Your Dog

Credit: Konstantin Trubavin / Getty Images When surfing champion-turned-dog-trainer Chris de Aboitiz filmed himself with his dogs catching some surf off the coast of Sydney, Australia, this week, the video went viral. And with the way de Aboitiz's dogs are jumping over his shoulders while he rides in waves, it's not hard to see why. It's a sweet trick, but how can you teach your canine to jump on the board with you in the first place? "It all comes back to understanding behavior," says de Aboitiz. His work as a dog trainer in his native Australia is rooted in…

They Love Me Not: Worst Blind Date Stories

Come February, it's almost impossible to escape stories of love and romance. Valentine's candy is crowding store shelves, engagement ring commercials are playing constantly, and it seem the whole world has hearts in their eyes. Or at least, that's what they want you to think. I was having dinner with a few friends recently, and we noticed a couple sitting at an adjacent table who were obviously on a blind date. Naturally, we watched them, as though we were curious patrons at the zoo of sex and dating. It seemed like it was going pretty well--she was laughing at his…

Why Harper Lee Matters

President George W. Bush presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Harper Lee, November 5, 2007 in the East Room of the White House. Credit: Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images Harper Lee, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of To Kill a Mockingbird, died at the age of 89 in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. Even though she ended up producing what might very well be the closest we get to the Great American Novel, Lee chose to live a private, secluded life in her Southern hometown, staying clear from the spotlight despite the novel and its Oscar-winning film adaptation's…

Alex Honnold’s Patagonia Trifecta: Two Speed Records and a First Ascent

Mt Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre from Condor's lookout Credit: Ignacio Palacios / Getty Images It's been a busy week for climbers Alex Honnold and Colin Haley. On January 31, the two athletes set a blistering speed record of 20 hours and 40 minutes on Patagonia's Torre Traverse. The massive climbing route follows a north-to-south link-up of all four major peaks in the Torre Range (Cerro Standhardt, Punta Herron, Torre Egger, and Cerro Torre). The route, which has over 7,000 feet of vertical gain, has only been successfully climbed one other time, in 2008 by Haley and Rolando Garibotti, an…

Irvine Welsh on Sex, Politics, and, of Course, Scotland

Credit: Portrait by Jeffrey Delannoy Scottish author Irvine Welsh first came to the attention of readers with Trainspotting, his darkly comic 1993 novel about heroin addicts in the Leith district of Edinburgh. The book spawned a movie that launched the career of Ewan McGregor, as well as a million baby-walking-on-the-ceiling nightmares. He's since gained critical acclaim for his gritty, fearless novels such as Filth, Porno, and The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins. RELATED: The 10 Best True Crime Books Welsh's latest book, A Decent Ride, follows Terry "Juice" Lawson, who he first introduced in the novel Glue. A Decent Ride…

What's In the Grand Canyon River Guide Sexual Misconduct Report: A Cheat Sheet

The U.S. Department of Interior’s inspector general recently released a report revealing a history of sexual harassment by National Park Service guides during river trips at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The Report of Misconduct was spurred by a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell in September 2014, from 13 former and current National Park Service employees alleging "discrimination, retaliation, and a sexually hostile work environment." Here are the five big takeaways from the report: 1. The complaints were directed at four men (whose names remain confidential), and can be summarized as: inappropriate touching, inappropriate sexual comments, and inappropriate…

Daily Fantasy Sports Gets Sacked in New York – Who's Next?

Credit: Zia Morales / Bloomberg / Getty Images This story originally appeared Rolling Stone It's game over. For now, at least. On Friday, New York Supreme Court Justice Manuel Mendez ruled that daily fantasy sports sites like DraftKings and FanDuel are illegal under state law, and must fold up their tents in New York. The decision could signal the end of the billion-dollar daily fantasy industry as we know it. Judge Mendez backed up Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's assertion that daily fantasy amounts to illegal gambling and should not be allowed to accept wagers or continue to do business in…
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